Some Things Can't Be Taught
by PratClotpoleDollopHeadQueen
Summary: Will knew they were there. Watching him through the trees. They'd been following him for a while. Will thought they were just bandits, but then there were too many of them for that. Assassins? Who would want to kill Will? Will could only think of one other possibility; they wanted to kidnap him. He only had one question? What would anyone want with Will? IDORA!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the revised version of the first chapter. To be honest, not much has changed other than a few minor details. I figured out how to work with what I have so that I don't have to start over. I'm sorry for the delay, but here it is. The next chapter shouldn't be too far behind. Thanks for being patient with me and putting up with my shenanigans ;) Now on to the story. Enjoy!

Will looked up at his captors with hatred in his eyes. "I'll never tell you anything." Under any other circumstances Will would be terrified of the man in front of him but after all of his training with Halt over the past years and because Will knew that his captors needed information out of him that they could get from few others in the kingdom, Will was valuable to them and therefore safe for the time being.

Another bruise was added to the array of injuries Will had collected from his time with his captors. The man who struck him spat at Will "Take him away," he said with contempt. He glared angrily at Will as Will was dragged out of the room and back to his cell. Will, knowing that this interrogation was over, finally let unconsciousness claim him and he welcomed the darkness.

Will awoke and was surprised to find that it was still dark outside. Whether this was because he had slept through the day or whether he hadn't slept much at all, Will didn't know. Will did, however, highly doubt his first notion of sleeping through the day because he knew his captors would never be so lenient with him. His captors had never missed an interrogation while Will was in captivity. He knew they wouldn't start now.

Will was still confused by the lighting outside. There was one window in Will's cell that had three vertical bars across it. It was a small window that let only a small amount of light in, but it was still helpful for telling time. Will was small so he couldn't quite see out of the window but Will still found ways to use every tool available to him.

Based on his calculations, Will's interrogations were once around midday, every day since his captors brought him in. It had been a week so far and he knew that his captors would eventually get tired of the same old routine. Will would never talk, he would die with his secret if that was what it came to. Will also knew that Halt would do whatever it took to get Will back even if that meant taking his place, but hopefully it wouldn't come to this.

Will groaned as he turned over to find a more comfortable position. There was no bed or mattress in Will's cell, just the hard stone floor and walls. There was no way for Will to treat his fever that had come with the infection of the cuts and gashes that he had collected over the past week. These men didn't care about Will's health. They only cared about the information he carried, and they would do anything to get that information…anything.

This is where Will's value came into play. They couldn't damage him too much because if he was one of few people who had the knowledge they sought, he was important, but so far the king had not answered the ransom for Will. Will truly believed that somebody would come for him but Halt had always told him to always assume that he'd need to find his own way out.

Will finally found a semi comfortable position and fell asleep again. It was peaceful, at least looking at him you'd think it was, but Will often dreamed in his captivity. Although some wouldn't call them dreams, but nightmares. These nightmares were mostly about Will giving up his secret and endangering all of Araluen. Some were about Will dying with his secret, but those were like unicorns and rainbows compared to the ones about Will giving the secret up. The nightmares plagued him but they were also a blessing. They helped Will keep his resolve. Will knew that if he let his guard down even for a minute, anything could happen. Halt always taught him to keep his resolve and to never let his guard down, and Will wasn't about to start now.

When the door creaked open again for his daily interrogation something felt different. Maybe it was because Will was so exhausted, not necessarily sleep deprived but because he was physically exhausted and his injuries and infections were beginning to take their toll on him. Will thought it was something else though, almost as if his captors had figured something out or had some sort of plan or secret.

They weren't the brightest but their leader wasn't an idiot either. Their one fault was that they usually told Will when they had a new development instead of keeping it to themselves. In this case they usually would have been seen as cunning for telling a prisoner this bit of information but they obviously hadn't met a Ranger before. Rangers were trained to withhold information and withstand torture. This bit of information only strengthened Will's resolve and helped him to stand firm.

When the guards dragged him into the room and strung him up again by his wrists, Will's breathing got shallower and quicker, but he attempted to keep it under control. The leader walked in with a smug look on his face and Will knew that there was a new development on their end. A million thoughts went through Will's head but Will kept a straight face, he didn't let there be any sign of a mental weakness on his part. Will wondered if they had caught Horace or Halt or if King Duncan really had paid his ransom, but Will doubted the last thought. King Duncan would be unwise to pay such a high ransom for someone so lowly as Will, or so Will thought. In fact, because Will held a vital piece of information in his mind that so few others held, he was quite valuable to a lot of people, including the king.

The leader finally stood in front of Will with his arms crossed and that smug grin still pasted on his face. "Your king has sent a reply to our ransom." He paused for a moment. Waiting for Will to show some sign of doubt or trust in his king, but Will showed neither. He was only a bit disappointed that the king would pay the ransom, because as explained earlier, Will didn't think that he was as valuable as he really was. The leader continued "He didn't pay it." For the first time Will looked relieved. It almost made the leader think that Will wasn't really who he said he was, but the oak leaf was a clear symbol of the Rangers, therefore he had to be who he said he was.

Will replied "This doesn't change anything. I'm still not telling you a thing about those documents. You'll never get your hands on a single word of it."

The man punched Will again. He took his dagger out as well and sliced Will's upper arm, tearing Will's shirt and making it wet with blood. Will winced but compared to some other injuries he had at the moment that was like getting a scratch. Will looked up at the man again and Will was not afraid, despite what the man could do to him "No matter how much you bruise me, burn me, cut me, stab me, I will never tell you anything. I will always stay loyal to my kingdom and my king. I will not betray-" A kick to the ribs. Will was pretty sure he had at least some cracked ones, and now maybe those cracked ones broke. Will sputtered and spit out blood. The metallic taste lingered and made him want to puke.

The leader looked at Will again with hatred in his eyes. It made Will wonder what he had done besides withhold the documents to make this man hate him so much. This thought got Will thinking though, what if Will _had_ done something previously to earn this man's hatred or possibly even the group. But what could Will have done? The leader took Will's face in his hand and looked directly into his eyes. "I hope you understand that since your ransom wasn't paid, and you clearly won't tell us anything about those darn documents of yours, we can do whatever we want with you." He paused again, although this time it seemed to be only for dramatic effect. He then leaned in closer to Will's face and said menacingly to Will "So what'll it be?"

 ** _A/N: So how was it? Please tell me if you have any suggestions or anything you want to say to me. Please review, they motivate me and to be honest they make me feel good, most of the time ;) Thanks again. I hope you enjoyed!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: So here is the second chapter...finally. Haha, I suppose it wasn't too long of a wait? Either way here it is and I hope it's better than the first. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before but this is my first fan fiction for Ranger's Apprentice so I kind of have to get a feel for things and get in a groove with my writing, so naturally the story will get better as it progresses. Please R &R and no hate mail. Thanks and enjoy!**_

Will was calm. He was satisfied with the situation. Although he had not been rescued, Will knew that his captors would never win this battle. Will still held the key to the information they desired and they had no leverage now. To be honest they didn't really have leverage to begin with, and that was what had Will uneasy. He was ultimately satisfied with the situation, but Will felt that he was underestimating his opponents, just as he had underestimated them when he was captured.

*—*—X—*—*

Will knew they were there. Watching him through the trees. They'd been following him for a while. He thought they were just bandits, but then there were too many for that. Assassins? Who would want to kill Will? He could only think of one other possibility; they wanted to kidnap him. He only had one question. What would anyone want with Will?

That answer was quite simple really. There were documents about a royal embassy that was to travel to Skandia for negotiations on a treaty. Many people wanted to take that embassy, because it was really no embassy at all. It was the King and Princess themselves. Although the advisors had…well…advised against it, the King insisted, possibly just to be stubborn. The fact was that few people knew the details of the route and such, therefore since Will was one of these few, he was valuable to quite a few different people. That included this group following him.

One thing Halt always told Will was to always assume oblivion, when it came to trackers. If they believed you to be oblivious, then you gained an advantage over them. Will therefore took this statement too far and didn't take enough precautions. It was difficult to remember everything Halt told you. Another lesson being that you should never let your guard down, no matter how much you think you have the situation under control, because as soon as you think you have it under control, that's the moment when everything falls apart. This was Will's downfall. Will had been careless and one mistake was all it took. One stupid mistake. Clearly, although he was skilled, he still had a lot to learn.

*—*—X—*—*

Will grunted as the guard punched him in the gut again. Those broken ribs never really healed. They'd been broken again and again, and eventually, Will wasn't sure they'd ever be able to be mended again. The leader had been bluffing when he said that they could do whatever they wanted to Will. Will supposed that he gained some common sense and decided that until they had some leverage, they would have to attempt at getting the information from Will by torture. A method that, at the moment, did not seem to be paying off for either party.

He didn't even attempt to speak. Will knew that that would get him nowhere at the moment. The guard would harm him either way. If Will spoke, he would only get a worse beating, so to save himself from further pain, Will simply said nothing. Will said nothing because he was afraid of what he would say, and what the guard would do to him. Will knew that if he spoke out of turn, this man was capable of crippling him for life.

*—*—X—*—*

Halt had gone looking for Will as soon as he had gone missing. Will was on a mission with Halt and Halt had told Will to go ahead, because he had some business to attend to nearby. Halt told him he would catch up later. Will trusted his mentor and went ahead. Will trusted him. That was what bothered Halt. Halt made a promise to Will, and Will had trusted him, and now Halt had broken it. Halt had promised him that everything would be alright, when Will came back from Skandia. Halt promised him that he would never let it happen again. It was one of the few times that Halt let his emotional barriers down. It was a brief a fleeting moment of…of…well Halt couldn't really explain it. The point was that the walls had gone back up after that. Everything was back to the way it should have been. Until now.

Halt was following Will's tracks. Everything seemed right…but not this. Halt could tell Will had stopped to rest, for food, something, but he hadn't continued alone…or of his own free will. He was getting close.

*—*—X—*—*

Will heard them whispering a few cells down. Despite them being stone, these cells had nothing in them besides Will's cell, so they were hollow and therefore easy to hear through.

"Rorik, I haven't gotten through to him. Soon he's not going to be able to take much more of this. We need a different plan." Will recognized this voice well. This was the voice of the guard that interrogated and tortured Will. There was no way that Will could ever forget that voice.

"I thought we discussed this Mordrim, we have… _help_ on the way. If we start easing up now, we'll never get what we want. If anything we need to be harsher than ever. We need to break him." This voice was the leader's voice that, up until now, was nameless. Will only knew him as the leader of this group, and his captor. Will had never heard this man's name, but it was nice to put a name to a face.

"But what if-" Mordrim didn't even get to finish his sentence. Will didn't know what went on in there, but he did know the he wouldn't be seeing Mordrim again. Will heard Rorik whisper something, probably saying that Mordrim should not have questioned Rorik's decisions, but Will didn't care. Mordrim was softening and Rorik hadn't hesitated to kill him. Will could only imagine what Rorik would do to Will, if provoked.

*—*—X—*—*

Halt had been searching for what felt like forever. It had taken him a while to convince King Duncan that he wasn't needed in the kingdom for a while. Halt also reminded him of what happened last time Will had been captured. Will had been in Skandia and under the influence of Warmed, a drug that made Will a mindless slave. Halt didn't know what these people would do with Will, but he knew exactly what they wanted from him. Halt wasn't sure how they were trying to get the information from him, but it was a good thing that they didn't know Will very well, because Will has one major weakness…his friends.

—

Will awoke to screaming. It wasn't a man's screams, but a woman's screams. Will couldn't bear the thought of someone torturing a woman, just because he always believed women were something to be treasured and not treated like dirt. Most men in this day and age did not agree with him.

Will couldn't help wondering who the poor woman was. He also couldn't help thinking it was someone he knew. Will knew only a few women. Jenny and Alyss and Lady Pauline. Obviously if they were trying to get to Will emotionally it would be one of the first two. They wouldn't take Lady Pauline, she was too heavily guarded, but one of her apprentices? Sure. It didn't make any sense though. Who could possibly know that Alyss and Will were friends, or maybe more? Only Will's closest friends knew this, and unless this group had been watching Will for some time now, they wouldn't have known to take Alyss of all people. Will would do anything to protect her, but again, unless they knew Will or had been watching him, they wouldn't have known this. Will only had one more question, and that was…who are these people?

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed! Please review and give me any suggestions you might have. Thanks again! Until next time!**_


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